Helfgott Blog

Sometimes, the sheer enormity of the problems in the world can make you feel that your efforts to help out are a bit trifling. How can small changes on an individual level possibly make a dent? Michael Pollan, journalist, author, and localvore, takes this mindset to task in a recent article that argues that little steps, individual actions and yes, even changing your light bulbs, really can...

The whir of the washing machines, down at a local laundromat, keeps tempo as the words for this article unfold. Patrons busy themselves in solitary worlds, each wrapped up in thoughts of their own, quietly unloading, folding, and organizing clean clothes as the unexpected beat of laundromat “silence“ provides: patterns of people performing tasks in a repetitious fashion. Closely I watch....

This is PART 5 in a 12 part series for the Year of Sagely Living project, entitled 12.12.12: A journey of self-discovery for a lopsided soul. To learn more about the project 12.12.12, click here. The month of May continued to alter my view, yet through the course of healthy pruning, words have left me with little structure to build upon for an entire article. So, poetry it is, mix things up a...

Lisa Rohleder licensed acupuncturist (LAc), took the time out of her busy schedule to discuss social inequities and her strategy to meet the challenge of integrating holistic medicine into the Portland community. Lisa is far from intimidated by obstacles, and as a leader within the acupuncture community, she has clearly paved a path for others to follow with her book: The Remedy: Integrating...

Dr. Tabatha Parker, ND, founder and Executive Director of Natural Doctors International (NDI), stopped by my cubical the other day and I’ve got one word to sum up the encounter: Wow! Do you ever have one of those moments where you are actually amazed by the greatness that resides within an individual’ You can literally feel the courage, compassion, and charisma exude from their presence,...

To those that do business for the state of Oregon, After about a month of mulling over the facts, it has come to my attention that we love Oregon- despite its rainy weather. And when I say, we, I mean the royal we, the collective we, the people that create this lovely green state, who partake in taxes and who read the daily funnies. Some of us prefer to be called weird, others progressive, and...

Naturopathic philosophy is steeped in the tradition of sustaining health and vitality with basic, natural entities- sunshine, fresh air, clean water, and nutritious food. In our modern world, access to clean food seems harder than it should be. We are very lucky here in Oregon to be leaders in agriculture. In this part of the world, we can grow nearly anything! However, why is a state with an...